Himachal Faces Teacher Shortage, Plans to Fill Over 3,000 Vacant Posts
Education Minister Rohit Thakur
Shimla, March 22, 2025: The shortage of teachers in Himachal Pradesh’s government schools has become a significant issue, prompting discussions in the state assembly. On Saturday, during the question hour, Congress MLA Rakesh Kalia, BJP’s Pawan Kajal, and Randhir Sharma raised concerns regarding the growing number of vacant teaching positions in the state. They sought information from the state government about the efforts to address this shortage.
In response, Education Minister Rohit Thakur revealed that a total of 5,306 teaching posts remain vacant across various categories, including Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT), Post Graduate Teachers (PGT), Junior Basic Teachers (JBT), and Head Teachers. The vacant positions include 342 TGT Arts posts, 258 posts for medical subjects, 444 posts for non-medical subjects, 63 posts each for PGT Biology and Physics, 3,395 JBT posts, 195 Central Head Teacher positions, and 546 Head Teacher posts. Thakur stated that the government is committed to filling these vacancies in a phased manner, prioritizing schools that need teachers the most.
This shortage comes at a time when the state is grappling with rising unemployment. MLA Janak Raj highlighted the concerning increase in the unemployment rate, which has reached 5.4% in 2023-2024, up from 4% in 2021-2022. According to the latest data, Himachal Pradesh currently has 6,32,505 registered unemployed individuals, with a similar number of non-registered unemployed as well. The rise in unemployment is a critical issue for the state, and the teacher shortage exacerbates the problem.
To address this issue, Minister Thakur stated that the government had already initiated steps to recruit teachers. A demand letter has been sent to the State Selection Commission for the recruitment of 937 TGTs and 1,762 JBTs. Additionally, the recruitment process for other vacant positions will begin soon. So far, the state government has approved the recruitment of 5,291 teachers. Of these, the recruitment process for 3,730 teachers has already begun, and appointments have been made for 3,450 posts. Counseling for the Shastri and physically handicapped categories has been completed, though appointments for these categories are still pending.
Thakur also pointed out the decline in school enrollment, with a 50% decrease in student enrollment in 2023 compared to 2003. In response, the state government plans to recruit 3,103 teachers through the State Selection Board. Priority will be given to appointing teachers in remote areas where the need is most urgent.
To optimize existing resources, Thakur addressed the issue of language teachers. He announced that language teachers (LTs) in schools with more than one language teacher will be redistributed to schools that have no language teachers. The rationalization process for language teachers, TGTs, and JBTs will be completed once the session concludes.
The shortage of teachers has been a long-standing issue in Himachal Pradesh, but with the government’s efforts to fill the vacant posts, there is hope that the quality of education in the state will improve. The state government’s initiatives to recruit teachers in a phased manner and provide priority to remote areas demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing the needs of students across the state.
As the recruitment process progresses, it is expected that the situation will gradually improve, and more students will benefit from a stable and well-staffed teaching environment.
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